Dr. Jim Surrell, Journal columnist

In just two days, we will be blessed to celebrate our annual Thanksgiving Day. This is a special time when many of us will have the opportunity to be thankful as we gather together with family and friends.

Certainly, many of us also have much to be thankful for as we enjoy our great Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Let me again briefly review the long term history of our Founding Fathers and those who followed them offering thanks for our wonderful country.

Thanksgiving Day was first recognized as an official federal holiday by the United States government when President George Washington proclaimed the first national Day of Thanksgiving in 1789. For many years there was no specific national date set for the nation to celebrate a Thanksgiving Day. At that time, not all of our states celebrated a Thanksgiving Day

The states that chose to have a Thanksgiving Day celebration picked their own specific date. Therefore, it did not always fall on a Thursday. Finally, in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a federal bill officially proclaiming our United States Thanksgiving Day holiday to always be celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November.

At this time of Thanksgiving, and all year long, let us always remember and give thanks to all our present military personnel, all our military veterans, our local, state, and federal law enforcement personnel, our fire fighters, our first responders and emergency medical services personnel, and to all others who unselfishly serve us all and keep us safe.

We all owe so much to these dedicated individuals who do so very much to protect us and to save lives each and every day of the year. Thank you all so very much for all you do for all of us.

Let me now offer you a bit of humor that hopefully will get a smile, and perhaps even a genuine laugh from one or more of my following silly jokes.

≤ Why did the turkey cross the road? It was the chicken’s day off.

≤ What do you call a turkey crossing the road? Poultry in motion.

≤ Why was the Thanksgiving soup so expensive? It was a “24 carrot” soup.

≤ Jimmy’s teacher asked him what he was thankful for on Thanksgiving. Jimmy promptly said that he was thankful that he was not a turkey.

≤ What did the Thanksgiving Turkey say to his laptop computer? “Google, Google.”

≤ What’s the best dance to do on Thanksgiving? The turkey trot.

This is also a great time of year to offer thanks by making a donation to a local charity of your choice, or to volunteer your personal time and talents to serve others. I wish you all a most blessed and happy Thanksgiving for 2021.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Dr. Jim Surrell is the author of “The ABC’s For Success In All We Do” and the “SOS (Stop Only Sugar) Diet” books.Contact Dr. Surrell by email at sosdietdoc@gmail.com.